Acting is as hard as having a fake boyfriend.

Putting on a production worthy of the stage, Ryan and Luke are fake boyfriends acting in a very weird show for dubious personal gain. And they’re actually really bad at acting, but since I’m tying this into the theater it sounded better to say they were stage worthy.  No, it still works. A comedy of errors is a thing, so that’s what they are.

It only now occurs to me that I don’t actually have to reference the theater because this story takes place after the characters see a play, but it is, you know, after that. So fake boyfriends Ryan and Luke are at an after party where Luke thinks thoughts.

While I wouldn’t say Luke was straight until Ryan came into his life, I would say he had no idea liking guys was an option for him until, well, not this part. He still doesn’t know that, but it’s helpful information to know to avoid being as confused as him.

So Luke is at a party and nothing makes sense, which is par for the course of his life lately. This scene is sort of in the book One Little Word, but this is a different version.

Luke

I expected Zach to watch the spectacle of me and Ryan like it was quality entertainment. I wasn’t even surprised when he brought microwave popcorn to lunch one day, the perfect snack while he watched the show. He was around laughing at my expense, but I secretly appreciated that.

Zach and Joey knew this wasn’t real, hell half the school probably believed the true rumor Alicia and Lydia started, but they didn’t know for sure. It helped that Zach did, that there was someone who knew it wasn’t like that and treated me just the same, like I was there to amuse him.

So while him being a total jerk comforted me in one sense, I also appreciated a break from Zach at the play. The theater wasn’t what he considered quality entertainment. Ryan and I hadn’t really gone together, but Lydia didn’t respond to my texts, so the two of us technically went together.

I had to figure out a way to get Lydia while pretending to be with Ryan. I was meeting with the scholarship guys, I would get on their radar, and hopefully things would go from there. They wouldn’t have to know I was dating Lydia; I was getting good at hiding things.

No, that was being unfair. To myself. Maybe I was having a conscience. I had no time for anything pesky like that. My family wasn’t rich, so I needed scholarships as much as anyone. And I was an ally, I was part of that whole LGBT+ thing, right? So, I counted. I knew this should be wrong. Why didn’t I feel that guilty about it?

This was the perfect time to make something happen with Lydia, but I ended up babysitting Ryan.

via Acting is as hard as having a fake boyfriend.

Who still drank root beer after age ten?

Okay, now for a quote and excerpt from a book. Here’s what you need to know. There are two guys who don’t like each other. They’re at a fall festival and decide to turn everything into a competition. Possibly they fall in love.

via Who still drank root beer after age ten?

What Love Means

Just a reminder that What Love Means is still free until Tuesday. Get it here!

Max is a thrill-seeker on the road but doesn’t take chances with his heart. He has a loving (and annoying) family, a part-time job, and his motorcycle. He doesn’t need anything or anyone else. Certainly not a blonde rich kid who’s never had to work for anything in his life.

Cal might not have a job, but he’s always busy. Getting into a good college takes work and it’s worth it even if he doesn’t have any time for himself. He doesn’t need a rugged dark-haired boy distracting him.

When Max and Cal’s siblings start competing in spelling bees, these opposites are thrown together. They have nothing in common. Except for their attraction to each other. As they grow closer while coaching their siblings, their attraction might lead to something more. But can their high school relationship survive real world challenges?

Spelling words and learning their dictionary definitions is easy. Real life is different.

Max and Cal know how to spell love, but they’re about to find out what it means.

In this teen LGBTQ story, opposites attract, enemies become lovers, and a second chance means two old friends could become more.

A quote from One Little Lie, which will be released on Oct. 20.

Get to Know Max

I found some questions online about relationships. These are answered in the point of view of Max from my story What Love Means.

Have you ever been in love?
Ew. Why bother?

Have you ever had your heart broken?
I’m more of a heart breaker than the heart broken.

What does a successful relationship look like to you?
Finding a private spot to hook up, hooking up, and then both people go their separate ways.

What happened in your last relationship?
I’d have to have had a relationship to have a last relationship.

Are you friends with your former boyfriends or girlfriends?
I’d sound like a dick if I wondered what the point of that was, wouldn’t I? Well, it’s a good thing I don’t have any former boyfriends or girlfriends to be friends with.

What was your parents’ relationship like?
Oh fuck no.

 

If you could go on a date with a celebrity, who would it be and why?
Uh, Ryan Reynolds is pretty hot. Maybe Chris Pine… but my honest answer is absolutely Neil deGrasse Tyson. He’s humorous, intelligent, and he removed a planet from the solar system; that’s pretty badass.

 

What Love Means Excerpt

“This isn’t spelling, it’s chemistry. We have it. Why fight it?”

“That’s so cheesy.” It was but I didn’t care. It was true. We stared at each other and just when I thought I was going to drown in the sexual tension or he was going to kiss me right here in public in a middle school cafeteria, he broke away. Good, I still wasn’t anymore decided on the subject. I protested because it felt like I needed to, because I worried it couldn’t be as easy as he made it sound. But what if it could be?

I wasn’t considering his offer. I just. I wasn’t not considering it. Shit.

“You can tell yourself whatever you want,” he said lowly, “but this tension, this energy between us, it isn’t all one sided.”

It was hard to deny that when just his deep voice close to my ear sent shivers up my spine. So instead of pretending there was nothing between us, I just said, “It’s not a good idea.”

 

 

I expected Max to scoff, leave my side, or maybe get pissed off. He only squeezed my hand softly, eyes fixed on the stage. A small smile quirked his lips up. I got the feeling he didn’t mind that I hadn’t given in. Why didn’t he care?

Max had a thrill-seeking, daredevil streak in him that made flying down the road on a tiny piece of metal exciting when there were bigger, stronger pieces of machinery out there that could flatten him in an instant. He probably cranked the throttle and went fast, over the speed limit definitely, and pushed his bike to the limit. That all meant he’d like the chase. Shit. I couldn’t say yes yet, but I couldn’t, wouldn’t, didn’t want to say no. It seemed like he was up for the challenge of wearing down what little resistance I had. I’d never been pursued before. Shit, maybe I was a bit of thrill seeker too. I’d been too busy burying myself in books to realize it, but here I was, on the verge of something with him and so eager for it even if I couldn’t quite give in. Yet.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but I was becoming certain I wanted whatever it was.

– What Love Means

What Love Means- April 15 Release!

It’s almost here! My new book What Love Means will be released on April 15. You can order it here. As a celebration, I’m giving away ten gay YA romances and you can enter here.

What Love Means

Can two opposites turn their attraction into something more?

On the surface Max Keller and Calvin Winthrop-Scott should repel each other. Between their shared past that ended badly and their polar opposite personalities, there should be no love in their love/hate relationship. They have nothing in common. Except for their attraction to each other.

A friendship between their siblings and the kid’s shared interest in spelling bees brings the former best friends back together. Neither one of them wants to be friends anymore, but can they admit to themselves and everyone else that they want something more?

Max and Cal know how to spell love, but they’re about to find out what it means.

This high school romance features a bad boy with a soft spot for his little sister and a prep school brat whose perfect world is about to get more complicated. In this teen LGBTQ story, opposites attract, enemies become lovers and a second chance means two old friends could become more.

Excerpt:

 

Our jibes weren’t really antagonistic or biting, and the mood had turned almost playful. I only realized once it ended. Max scowled and his hands clenched. Oh well, I might as well take the advantage when it’s offered. “Touch a nerve?” I asked.

Just when I thought I might get the upper hand, Max smirked. “You touched more than that,” he leered. His face turned wolfish. I wanted to smack that look off his face or bite and kiss it away.

It was my turn to grimace. “About that.” I couldn’t let my stupid libido win. I had to be reasonable about this. Being reasonable and careful was as easy as breathing for me. Except when Max was around.

“We should keep it between us?” he whispered, sounding mocking as he stepped closer. We probably looked ridiculous: two teens outside a library acting like we were auditioning for West Side Story as we postured and glared. Or maybe Romeo and Juliet. “Well, what’s in it for me if I do?” he flirted.

“The feeling of being a good and decent person?” I suggested, struggling not to lean into the tempting heat of his body.

“Maybe I’d rather feel you instead.” His hands ghosted right above my chest. I prided myself on not moving into the touch. It was just a little chilly out suddenly, and his broad, hot body next to mine was alluring. Because of the temperature. It’s not like I had a leather jacket to keep the cold at bay.

“This doesn’t have to be a big thing,” I said and immediately realized my mistake.

Max grinned. “Oh, you didn’t just say big thing.”

I made a frustrated noise. “Can you take anything seriously?”

“Do you wanna see what I can take?” he shot back. I was the one to walk away this time even though Max followed merrily after me.

“Is this what we’re going to do? Just annoy each other to death?” I asked while he trailed behind me.

“Why, you can’t handle it?” Max caught up and stopped me before I entered the library. His hand was on my arm where I wore a navy long-sleeved shirt; the heat of his hand bled through easily. I didn’t say anything. “Hello?” he asked after a few moments.

I thought of and rejected several responses to his question. “I just don’t know how to answer in a way that won’t sound like an innuendo,” I admitted.

His lips pressed together in a mocking pout. “You’re no fun.”

“You’ll stop teasing me then?”

His eyes sparkled with mischief. “I didn’t say that.”

Yeah, I didn’t think it would be that easy.

 

 

We’re Number One!

Thank you to everyone who got a FREE copy of L-O-V-E on Amazon! It ranked as the top free book in YA LGBT fiction. I’m thrilled so many people are checking out my book about stubborn boys and spelling bees. I hope you enjoy the excerpt. Those who haven’t gotten a copy yet for free still can here.

My contest giving away 10 gay romances for young adult readers is also still going on. Enter for your chance to win!

And once again, thank you for selecting and reading my work! It means a lot to me (and my dog) while I try to support us as an author.